Kate Garraway has opened up about her day-to-day life now amid caring for her husband Derek.
The Good Morning Britain host has been Derek’s carer since he became seriously ill after getting Covid-19 at the beginning of 2020.
Derek has been in and out of hospital since having the virus and Kate has now shared details of his recovery, three years on, revealing that her husband’s condition means they’re ‘living on a rollercoaster’.
While speaking to Good Housekeeping, Kate admitted, “I’d love to be able to tell you that, since Derek has been home, everything has been easy, that the miracle of him being at home has turned the day-to-day challenges into a breeze, but because we keep having emergency setbacks and he’s had to be rushed back into hospital so many times, the fear of him dying has never left us”.
“The unpredictability of his day-to-day condition means we’re living on a rollercoaster”.
Kate then spoke about her new book, The Strength Of Love, where she shares an insight into their hopes for the future, struggles and hardships over the past few years.
“I can’t promise to have all the answers – my struggle is a work in progress – but in the book, I’ve shared what has helped me so far and things that have set me on a happier path”.
“I’ve tried to keep things hopeful, but I’ve also written about the darker moments, too”.
Garraway then reflected on positive times during Derek’s ongoing recovery, explaining, “When Derek was in a coma, I played music down the phone to him, including lots of Elton John. So, when we managed to get Derek to see him live at the O2, it felt like a miracle”.
“As he’s trapped in bed and at home for days on end, being able to do something like that energised him, even if just for the few hours he was there”.
The 56-year-old went on to reveal how she cares for herself while being a carer for Derek.
“I’ve been experimenting with ways to take control of my own happiness. I now deliberately carve out time to give myself the gift of doing something that only helps me”.
“It might be only 10 minutes of something physical, such as stretching, pottering in the garden with a mug of tea, or reading something not related to work. And I’ve put some fun girls’ nights in the diary with Charlotte Hawkins, Ranvir Singh and Susanna Reid”.
